Man arrested for grisly murder of aspiring model in Los Angeles: Police

A suspect has been arrested in the death of Maleesa Mooney, an aspiring model who was found dead in her Los Angeles apartment last year, according to police.

The 31-year-old's body was discovered at her apartment on Sept. 12 after her mother called in a welfare check, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. She was last seen alive on Sept. 6, according to the medical examiner's report.

The suspect, 41-year-old Magnus Daniel Humphrey, was arrested in Minnesota on an unrelated federal warrant, Los Angeles police said. He was already on federal probation for narcotics offenses.

After his arrest, he was identified as a suspect in Mooney's death, according to police.

Mooney was murdered inside her apartment, police said. Her body was found stuffed in a refrigerator with her arms and legs tied behind her back and a pool of blood beneath it, according to the report.

Clothing items were found on her face and neck and an apparent gag was stuffed in her mouth, according to the report. The autopsy revealed blunt force trauma to her face, head, back and arm. It was likely she was killed by asphyxia, but the medical examiner was unable to determine with certainty the manner of her death, deeming it a result of homicidal violence.

Murder charges have been filed against Humphrey and he will be transported back to Los Angeles to face the charges, according to police.

Police would not share a possible motive and are unaware if the suspect and victim knew each other.

"She's so kind, she's so genuine, she's so loving," Mooney's sister, Jourdin Pauline, told KABC at a rally after Maleesa's death. "To have someone do what they did to my sister, to that caliber, is sick. It's demented."

ABC News' Deena Zaru contributed to this report.